KARACHI: At least two persons died and 10 others got injured after a two-storey residential building collapsed here at Lyari Town on Sunday.
The building collapse incident took place near Koyla Godam area at Lyari Town.
One among deceased persons is identified as Jan Muhammad, whereas the injured persons include 30-year-old Abdul Rehman, 25-year-old Daud, 45-year-old Habib, 30-year-old Umair Khan, 40-year-old Sher Khan, 25-year-old Samiullah, 18-year-old Riyaz, 25-year-old Habib Saeed and 20-year-old Umar Khan.
Rescue teams shifted the dead bodies and injured people to Civil Hospital. The officials of police and Rangers assisted the rescue teams for removing the debris at the building collapse site.
The owner of the building told the media that construction work was underway near the building. He added that the building has godowns on its ground floor.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail took notice of the incident and summoned a report from the provincial chief secretary, besides issuing orders for carrying out relief activities. He said in a statement that the lives of Karachi people are endangered due to negligence of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA).
This is the sixth incident reported in 2020 which is followed by a collapse of a multi-storey residential building in Karachi’s Korangi on Friday last.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) inspection team has said that the sealed houses adjacent to the collapsed building in Lyari’s Koyla Godam area will be demolished soon.
An inspection team of SBCA arrived at the site to ascertain the reasons for the building collapse. The officials said that excavation was underway on the adjacent site through a crane which hit the wall of the building.
The SBCA officials said that an illegal godown was established in the building. They added all houses in the surrounding of the collapsed building have been vacated which will be completely demolished soon. Moreover, strict action will be taken against the plot owner and excavator driver over showing negligence, besides completing a survey of all houses constructed near the building.
According to local residents, the first floor of the building was being used as a hotel for labourers while a godown was established on the ground floor. They claimed that labourers used the rooms constructed on the first floor and most of them were present in the building following a weekly holiday.
The locals said that they have tried to stop the usage of heavy machinery for the construction work and unluckily it led to the collapse of a portion of the hotel. – TLTP